Chicago Christian's Luke Jelderks popses with his four medals with Knights coaches Jake Christiansen (left) and Jacob Goble. Photo courtesy of Chicago Christian High School
Postseason Roundup: Chicago Christian’s Jelderks is state high jump champ; Sandburg 3200 relay takes title
By Jeff Vorva
Staff Writer
It was as easy as 1-2-3.
Actually, it was more like it was easy as 1A-2A-3A.
Two area individuals and a relay team emerged from the IHSA state boys track meet over the weekend as champions — one in each classification.
Luke Jelderks of Chicago Christian won the Class 1A high jump, St. Rita’s E.J. Nwagwu took first in the Class 2A and Sandburg’s 3200 relay team of Sean Marquardt, Declan Tunney, Trent Anderson and Brock Rice won in Class 3A.
Jelderks had a busy time as he qualified the finals in all four of his events. He won the long jump with a leap of 22-feet, 7.25 inches, was fifth in the 200-meter dash with a time of 22.96 seconds and finished seventh in the 100 in 11.21. He was also a member of the the Knights’ 400 relay team — along with Steffon May, Jeremiah Oliver and Jon Tobey — that took eighth with a time of 44.18.
Things mostly went smoothly for Jelderks, who was the football team’s quarterback in the fall and a starter on the basketball team in the winter.
“It started raining right before my 200 run in the preliminaries,” he said. “But aside from that, it wasn’t bad at all. I had the long jump in the morning and shortly after that I had the relay. Then I had rest before my sprints.”
Nwagwu, a receiver on St. Rita’s football team that took second in the state in Class 7A last season, took first in the 200 with a 21.48. He also claimed fourth in the 400 with a 50.04 04 and was on the Mustangs’ fifth-place 400 relay team with Nikolas Norton, Jimmie Maxson III and Kaleb Brown with a 42.75, just ahead of St. Laurence’s Harley Rizzs, Matt Ochoa, Dell-Rio Johnson III and Adrian Williams with a 43.02.
The Sandburg 3200 relay team won its 10th straight medal in that event and fourth state championship with a 7:44.03. The Eagles finished second in sectional competition to Hinsdale Central and second in the preliminaries to Downers Grove South. But in the championship final they put it together for the win.
“These guys were my four rocks,” Eagles distance coach John O’Malley said. “They focused the entire time on themselves. There was a lot of external noise from a lot of other performances. There were some great relay teams out there that we could have focused on and worried about and all week we focused on us.”
Also in Class 3A, Marist’s 3200 relay squad of Danny Olsen, Brendan Geary, Jake Phillips and Andrew Kerlin placed ninth with a 7:59.12.
Marcus Kennedy of Brother Rice took sixth in the high jump with a 6-4, and Robert Wagner was ninth with a 6-2.75.
In the 1600, Sandburg’s Tunney took sixth with a 4:12.71 while Richards’ Owen Forberg was right by his side with a 4:12.73.
In Class 2A, St. Laurence’s Williams took seventh in the 200 with a 22.45.
De La Salle’s Chase Pitre finished ninth in the 800 with a 1:57.72.
Mount Carmel’s Jaden Bossie was fifth in the 110 hurdles with a 14.96.
St. Laurence’s 800 relay team of Rizzs, DeShawn Parker, Allan Parker and Williams took third with a 1:28.76. Parker took second in the triple jump with a 44-5.5 and 12th in the high jump with a 6-0.75.
State tennis
The state tennis tournament took place over the weekend at various sites. In Class 1A, Nazareth’s Ryan Nelson went the deepest into the tournament among area players before dropping an 8-4 decision to Erza Bernhard of Champaign Central in the fifth round of consolation. He finished 3-2 for the tournament.
Chicago Christian’s Aidan Gorman finished 0-2.
In Class 2A, the Lyons doubles team of Will Carroll-Mason Mazzone finished 3-2 and reached the fourth consolation round. Singles player Jack McLane went 2-2 while the doubles team of Tiernan Kelly-Patrick Adams went 1-2.
The Sandburg doubles team of Danny Gallagher-Nico Delis finished 2-2 while singles player Ryan Bottini and the doubles team of Shreyas Shah-Ethan Carlson went 0-2.
Stagg’s Zeb Alikhan pulled off a 1-2 record while Lukas Cepronas and the doubles tandem of Declan Lally-Ian Wolan went 0-2. Marist’s Brayden Bartecki went 0-2.
Regional royalty
There were 15 baseball or softball teams from the area that survived the grind of the opening rounds of the postseason and won regional championships. Sectional action began this week.
In baseball, Brother Rice, Lyons, Mount Carmel and Riverside-Brookfield won regional titles in Class 4A. In Class 3A, St. Laurence, which finished third in the state in 2021, Marist, Nazareth and De La Salle claimed regional titles.
In softball, defending Class 4A champion Marist won a regional championship, as did Riverside-Brookfield, Lyons and Shepard. In Class 3A, Evergreen Park, Richards and St. Laurence won titles.
A super change for Marist
Marist’s boys and girls lacrosse teams won their first sectional titles and are in the Washington Supersectional.
Since the four teams involved are from the Chicago area, the games were moved from the downstate site to Marist. The RedHawks boys team was scheduled to play Naperville North and the girls were slated to take on the Lincoln-Way coop team on Tuesday.
All-American at SXU
Saint Xavier sophomore Ayobami Arokoyo became the first field athlete for the Cougars’ men’s track and field team to earn All-American after his sixth-place performance in the discus at the NAIA Men’s Track and Field National Championships in Gulf Shores, Ala. Arokoyo, a Schaumburg native, had a throw of 50.45, the second-best in program history.
Arokoyo is just the second Cougar track and field athlete to be named an All-American. Former standout Abel Hernandez became the first outdoor All-American when he placed 8th in the 10,000-meter event in 2017.
Local News
Crime images spark outrage in Gage Park
Spread the loveRobbed at gunpoint in his own garage By Tim Hadac Home-security camera images of a 48-year-old Gage Park man being robbed at gunpoint in his own garage outraged a number of Southwest Siders this week. Images showed the man driving his car down the alley in the 5500 block of South Richmond at…
Here’s the skinny: Trimmed-down Lawrence helps Oak Lawn top Evergreen
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Staff Writer Oak Lawn senior basketball player Davion Lawrence is 45 pounds lighter than he was last season, but insists his eating habits are the same. He has, however, changed up his training habits. Heading into football last fall, Lawrence and a few fellow seniors wanted to get in the…
College Report: McAuley grad Swiatek plays hero for St. Francis
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Staff Writer Hannah Swiatek comes off the bench for the University of St. Francis and is averaging 3.1 points per game. But when called on for the biggest shot of her college career, the 5-foot-8 junior guard from Oak Lawn delivered. Swiatek scored the winning basket in a wild 99-97…
Evans, Adams lead Argo past Shepard on Alumni Night
Spread the loveBy Steve Metsch Corrspondent Argo’s Davonte Evans and Will Adams both knew it was just a matter of time before the Argonauts would find a way to beat Shepard. That time came in the third quarter of a South Suburban Red matchup, when Argo outscored Shepard en rout to a 61-52 on Jan.…
Cruz booted from SD 229 school board in Oak Lawn
Spread the loveBy Dermot Connolly There is a vacancy on the Oak Lawn Community High School District 229 School Board, after members voted 6-1 last week to remove Robert Cruz for allegedly violating his oath of office, school board policy and state statutes. Cruz, a property developer, was elected to the District 229 board in…
Tax exemptions will be automatic, Kaegi says
Spread the loveFrom staff reports In response to the ongoing pandemic, the Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi’s office will continue the automatic renewal of the Senior Freeze, Veterans with Disabilities and Persons with Disabilities Exemptions. The Homeowner and Senior Exemptions will continue to auto-renew every year. If a homeowner received any of these five exemptions…
Oak Lawn officials rip governor, legislators over crime
Spread the loveBy Joe Boyle Two Oak Lawn officials are calling for Gov. J.B. Pritzker and local legislators to re-evaluate a police reform law that they say has resulted in a rise in crime. Trustee Alex Olejniczak (2nd) served as mayor pro-tem during the Oak Lawn Village Board meeting Tuesday night in place of Mayor Terry Vorderer,…
Neighbors
Democrats muscle through changes to ballot access, advisory questions
By JERRY NOWICKI HANNAH MEISEL & PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Supermajority Democrats in the Illinois House moved quickly Wednesday to push through a change to state election laws that partially limits ballot access and adds three nonbinding referendums to the 2024 general election ballot. It’s a move that caused minority party…
After 3 years, state poised to enforce law aiming to end lending discrimination
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – In 1977, then-President Jimmy Carter signed into law the Community Reinvestment Act, a federal law that sought to wipe away the last vestiges of racial discrimination and redlining in America’s home mortgage industry. The idea was simple. By requiring lenders – primarily banks – to make…
Capitol News Illinois partners with ‘Illinois Lawmakers’ program to bring it back to air
Capitol News Illinois announced today it will produce the long-running “Illinois Lawmakers” program this spring, in partnership with longtime host and producer Jak Tichenor. “This new partnership is absolutely critical to providing Illinois residents with reliable, independent, in-depth, up to date coverage from the Illinois Capitol after many newspapers and broadcasters shuttered their Statehouse bureaus over…
Election officials to weigh whether Darren Bailey and GOP operative Dan Proft illegally coordinated
By ANDREW ADAMS & HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com CHICAGO – A year and a half after Republican Darren Bailey lost his campaign to challenge Gov. JB Pritzker, state election officials are weighing whether he illegally colluded with conservative radio show host and political operative Dan Proft in the 2022 campaign. The State Board…
Immigrant advocates tout new report showing benefits of state-funded health plans
By PETER HANCOCK and JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Immigrant rights advocates on Friday continued to push for one of their top budget priorities: full funding for state-run health care programs that benefit noncitizens, regardless of their immigration status. Those programs offer health coverage for low-income individuals who would otherwise qualify for…
As state continues to inventory lead pipes, full replacement deadlines are decades away
By COLE LONGCOR Capitol News Illinois Clongcor@capitolnewsillinois.com Lead pipes in public water systems and drinking fixtures have been banned in new construction since 1986, when Congress amended the Safe Drinking Water Act, but they are still in use across the U.S. and in Illinois. The presence of lead pipes has persisted due in part to…
Capitol Briefs: State unveils report on racial disparities among homeless populations
By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com Tackling homelessness requires addressing racial injustice, according to a new report commissioned by the state’s Office to Prevent and End Homelessness. The report found that Black people are eight times more likely to experience homelessness than white people. Remedying this disparity, according to the report, would require “long-term…
Flooding is Illinois’ Most Threatening Natural Disaster. Are We Prepared?
by Meredith Newman, Illinois Answers Project April 16, 2024 This story was originally published by the Illinois Answers Project. The electricity in Mary Buchanan’s home in West Garfield Park was not working – again. The outage lasted four days, starting just after a crew dug up her front lawn to install a check valve in…
Bears pitch $3.2B stadium plan, but Pritzker still ‘skeptical’ despite team’s $2B pledge
By DILPREET RAJU & JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com The Chicago Bears laid out a $3.2 billion plan for a new domed stadium on Chicago’s lakefront on Wednesday afternoon, painting pictures of future Super Bowls and other major public events while pinning their hopes on yet-to-be-had conversations with the governor and lawmakers. The Bears…
Regulators weigh future of gas industry in Illinois, while clamping down on Chicago utility
By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com CHICAGO – Natural gas is fueling a fight between consumer advocates, a powerful utility company and the state. Amid competing advertising campaigns, accusations of mismanagement and state decarbonization efforts, the Illinois Commerce Commission is starting a process that will shape how the state regulates the increasingly controversial industry. …